More Dinner Pics!

Chipo, our student from Zimbabwe, had to eat pig's stomach. Marcie this picture is for you!



Johnathan had to eat 100 year old eggs. He said they didn't taste too bad...until after he had eaten them, they after taste got to him a bit.



Kim! This picture says it all about their dinner that night.



The boys congratulating themselves on a job well done!

Dinner's Served...um...dinner? Really?

Dinner for the 16 students...including pig kidneys, pig heart, tripe, live crickets, cow tongue, pig bung (yes it's butt!), dried seaweed, jelly fish, and the list goes on.....



Dustin got a bowfull of live worms for his dinner. It really freaked him out when they decided to put salt on them, for better taste, and the worms reacted by exploding up and out of the bowl. I've never seen someone jump so high and so fast.



Dustin couldn't eat the worms, so he decided to have them blended and then proceeded to drink them. Taste good?



Bryan got Sushi for dinner....which meant 6 live goldfish. He chugged one and then the other boys convinced him to chug a lug the whole bowl of fish. WOW!!

Boat Time

Looks cold out on that boat! They are getting ready to jump from the boat to a raft and then to another raft. Yes, in Kirkland on a rainy day, and very very cold! We said it was intense.



Here is what the boat and water looked like!

Team Activities

At Golden Garden Park, in Ballard, they had to do some team activities. Which included being tied together and golfing, playing basketball, and volleyball.



The students didn't reach a challenge in time, so they received a delay...all 16 students had to put a roll of pennies into the pig at Pike Place Market.

Getting Started

Here we are getting ready for the day...listening to the rules and still not knowing what they are getting into!



Yes, we blindfolded them at the beginning of the day!

MC Amazing Race/Fear Factor

Our MC program has what we call intensives, of which we have four every year. Our first intensive was a spiritual intensive, our second is a team building intensive, our third is evangelism, and our fourth is a physical intensive. What does intensive mean? It is literally an intense 24 hours in which the team does various activities that teach them various lessons.

This past Friday, we had our second intensive which started with a wake up call by the students houseparents at 3am!!! Needless to say, our houseparents loved waking their students up. I got the opportunity to get up a 2:30 am and drive over to a house and wake up a couple of girls whose houseparents were out of town. They then had to be at the church by 5:30am for a packed filled day.

Some of the things they did were: ride the Sounder to Seattle, go on a hunt for picture clues around Seattle (via communication between two teams on walkie talkies), games at Golden Garden Park in Ballard, activities at the International Fountain, a bus trip to Northwest College, a boat ride on the lake (COLD!!), and fear factor eating up in Snoqualmie, team building activities at GHCC in Maple Valley, and dinner at a pizza joint. At each pit stop they received an envelope that had a team challenge within, and that they had to pass! It was great fun.

We had a tremendously long day....they didn't get back to the church until 12:40 am on Sat!!!! But it is one of the best opportunities they have to build unity within their team, to encourage one another, and push past what they thought they never could do. It also helps as we are getting ready for our mission's trip and they really need to work together as a team!

Enjoy the Pictures!

Genuine Conference 2006

Our young adult group, The Connection, went up to Vancouver, BC this weekend for our annual winter conference/retreat. We stayed two nights at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver. Just a side note...if you ever want a nice hotel to stay at, the Hyatt is great and the people are wonderful to you. We had an amazing speaker for the weekend, his name is Charles Lee. He is a professor at Life Pacific College in California, as well as the pastor of New Hope South Bay in the Redondo Beach area.

I didn't get to hear the message Friday night; however, the two sessions we had on Saturday were tremendous. You can definitely tell that Charles has a heart to see his world changed. He is very active in seeing that social justice is accomplished within the church. So, I wanted to just leave with you all the bare bones of his two sessions Saturday.

**Sorry about the spacing and how it looks, as I am still learing the html codes and stuff for blogging**

January 21, 2006 "Community"

Partial Truths about Community:
1. Geographical Proximity: Distance at times deepens relationships, not weakens them
2. Frequency of Gatherings: Paul and the Church of Ephesus shared from a distance without numerous gatherings
3. Purpose is Accountability
4. Structured Activities: Structure needs to be submitted to the Spirit of God
5. Created in Small Groups: Small groups are great; however, are people going to truly share their deepest fears and concerns with someone they just met?

Concepts of Genuine Community:

1. Birthed in Solitude: Mt 14:13--14
a. Solitude prioritizes our values
b. Solitude creates necessary space
c. Solitude is communal in nature

2. Intricate by Nature: Romans 12:4--5
a. Unity
b. Equality
c. Mutuality
d. Necessity
e. Diversity

3. Nurtured by Spatial Hospitality: Eph 4: 1--3
a. Journey from hostility to hospitality

4. Imprinted with an Ethos of Love: ICor 12: 4--7
a. Posture of love is selfless
b. Purifier of love is conflict
c. Power of love is forgiveness
d. Cry of love is justice
e. Outlook of love is optimistic
f. Committment of love is everlasting

5. Missional in Outlook: John 17: 20--23

January 21, 2006 "Missional Hope"

Becoming the Church God Dreams About....

1. Our purpose: Mt28:18--20

a. An empowered purpose

b. A motion sensory purpose

c. A creative purpose

d. A partnering purpose

2. Our priorities: Mt 22: 34--40

a. A non-religious priority

b. A priority of experiencing God

c. A priority of embracing humanity

3. Our plan: James 1:22--27

a. Live out your faith

b. Recapture the power of words

c. Engage pure religion

4. Our posture: Phil 2:1--5

a. Compassion

b. Unity

c. Humility

d. Posture for the other

5. Our promise: ICor 15:58

what would you dream tonight? be specific, God will use me to impact souls. as passionate as I am about my future, God is more passionate about my future.

I hope that you can glean even one tiny new truth out of these messages. I know that it is not the same as sitting in the same room and listening and taking your own notes; however, I believe God can impart truth to those that are just reading through people's blogs and stumble across something that God pressed upon us to write.

Over the Hills and through the Woods....

to Grandma's house I go! Yes, I got to go visit my Grandpa Shorty and Grandma Pat (Maternal Grandparents) in Spokane, WA. It was a very, very short visit, but it was so good to see them. I left on Friday morning and flew over on an express flight, one of those planes that has room for about 15 people.

I got the opportunity to visit with my Aunt Colleen, Cousin Kendra and her two cuties Kennedy and Dawson. I also got to talk with April...sorry that I didn't get to visit you...next time!!!

From Spokane, we headed to LaCrosse where my grandparents live. I really did nothing this weekend but eat Grandma's cooking and watch football with Grandpa (Yeah Seahawks). I had to leave on Sunday afternoon, so we left their house about 1:30 pm so that I could get to the airport by 3:30pm.

All in all it was a great visit. The only downer is that my Grandpa has been sick, and he wasn't feeling well this weekend either. It is hard to see your Grandparents get old and sick and know that they won't be with you forever. This is especially hard for me to grasp as I have not yet lost a grandparent. If you think about it, please send up a prayer for my Grandfather (Shorty) as he goes through another round of chemotherapy.

ER Visit

Ok, so I am 31 and have never had to visit an emergency room for myself ever. Not one broken bone growing up, no appendicitis, no major wounds....nothing, zilch, nada, zip. And quite honestly, I would have preferred keeping it that way forever!

So, because I went hiking on Friday I aggravated my asthma. Keeping in mind that I haven't had an issue with asthma or bronchitis in over 7 years, and I have never had an asthma attack. On Saturday I was having a little bit of shortness of breath, didn't think anything of it since it didn't seem to be a big deal. On Saturday night, I couldn't sleep a wink as it was hard to draw in breath...finally got up at 5am and sat on the couch and tried to sleep sitting up. On Sunday, catching my breath was getting really hard, and it was starting to make me panic; however, as someone who doesn't have insurance, doesn't have money and doesn't think to highly of going to the doctor...I put it off and thought that taking a nap would make me feel better.

Woke up at 5:30 yesterday (Sunday) and felt so bad, my chest hurt, my throat hurt, I couldn't breathe (deep or otherwise)...it just felt so bad. And not only couldn't I breathe, but my whole body hurt. I'm not sure if that was from me trying to breathe and my muscles all over were working overtime or what. But shoulders hurt, my head hurt, everything....

The lovely people I live with said I'm taking you to the ER...this time I didn't argue. I spent from 6pm--10:30 in the ER on Sunday...talk about not fun. Two respitory treatments, one strep test, and one chest x-ray later I was finally able to go home. So what was the dianosis? A severe bronchial asthmatic attack.

Not being able to breathe was probably one of the scariest things I've been through. Because even in scary situations, you are able to breathe.

So, I went to bed round bout midnight (after going to get prescriptions, having to come home and eat so that I could take my prednisone steroid pills) and slept until 11:30 this morning. I feel so much better, and will never take for granted the ability to breathe. I am just taking it easy today by laying around and watching tv.

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!"

Kickin' Butt!

Since I am not working, it is a perfect opportunity to join in some of our Masters Commission activities. Fridays are what we call Family Day, as we do some activity together as a family. One activity that is done numerous times throughout the year is hiking. This is in order to get trained for climbing a Mountain in May (2 day event, and they try to reach the summit of some great mountain around WA State).

We went hiking today in North Bend, to a place called Twin Falls. OMG....I am so dreadfully out of shape and unprepared for hiking mountains. My goal was to finish strong! Which I did! But goodnes, my feet are killing me right now. I was all prepared to share with you the agony of hiking; however, I want you all to know that if I can hike almost 5 miles, then you can too. It may seem like agony at the beginning, and each step is harder to take, yet when you look back at what you accomplished everything doesn't seem so hard.

It was beautiful when we got to the bridge that spans the river and then to look up at the falls....beautiful creation of God. As the psalmist says, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." Psalm 42:7

On our way back down, everyone on the hike participates in building a monument of thankfulness to God. Each person finds a rock, we find a place to build our monument, then we go around and explain why you chose that rock and what you are thankful for and then place the rock on the monument. I wasn't clearly aware of what and why we were doing this; however, God showed me truth even in the simplicity of picking out a rock to express my thankfulness. My rock was one of those that you need to kick at with your heel to loosen it from the dirt and then you wiggle it back and forth until it is loose enough to come out. My words of thankfulness? Thankful that God kicks me in the butt, and digs me out of the dirt in order to see me succeed. Isn't God good, in that He wants us to succeed to our highest ability

Even if you don't have the chance to go out and hike 5 miles today, take a moment to stop and reflect on the creation around us that God has given us for our pleasure and in turn His pleasure at seeing His children content.

God is so GOOD!

WOW!

I was working down at my church today since I don't have to go to work right now. I plan on spending the days down there trying to get caught up on paperwork and other miscellaneous stuff that needs to be done. It is actually really nice being able to go down there and be apart of the comings and goings. Before I had my full time job, I was going down there once a week to work on Masters Commission stuff.

So what is the WOW part? Let me remind you that someone had donated $950 for my trip a month or so ago. Well, today someone sent me another check for $1000. WOW...WOW...WOW!!! God is so Good, and He knows just how to take care of me.

On another note, thank you to everyone who has been praying for me due to my current lack of employment. I am doing good (YES, I was a bit emotional last week...that was the initial "What the.." talking). I am submitting applications to various places, both here in WA and in CA. The reason for CA is that I was planning on moving there in a year or so anyway, so if God says move earlier than I will. I am picking up some work with KMPS. So, God has me covered and I trust completely in Him.

Blessings!

As I surfed through "blogville" tonight (Yeah, instead of partying and ringing in the New Year), I came upon the following and thought it was kind of fun.

Enjoy...

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C. /

I think I have "passed through" a few more than those mentioned above, but these are the ones that I've truly spent more than a few minutes in.

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Life Changes

So, the unthinkable happened today...I was let go from my job. You always go into meetings thinking the worst is going to happen, and then nothing...it is just a normal meeting...blah, blah, blah.

Then you go into a meeting, your heart starts racing, you start praying, "No, this can't be happening.", and then you hear...."I'm sorry the numbers just haven't been adding up....we haven't had any new sales....we might have failed in our training....you just aren't a good fit....it is partly me...blah...blah..blah."

Yep, that's right, for the first time I was actually let go from my job. They never said "FIRED", but more politically said your position has been terminated. The feeling of utter rejection and an overwhelming sense of OMG...what now! How are those bills going to get paid (thank God, Freddie the Ford Explorer got paid off last month), how am I going to find a new job when this one took me 8 months to find, how do I explain this to friends and family without sounding like a failure?

Questions
Questions
Questions

But I guess it comes down to the fact that I serve a greater God, and He has me in the palm of His hand right now and is whispering, "It's going to be ok...I have better things in store for you. I love you and I will never leave you nor forsake you."

And as I am typing those words, I have tears streaming down my face, because I do truly believe it, even in the midst of what seems like disaster!

Sit up straight, chin up and march forward. God's in control...I'm not...He's got something awesome for me.

Please pray!

Year in Pictures

As I was web surfing today, I came upon MSN's Year in Pictures. As I sit and think about the past year for my personal life, the problems and concerns that I have don't seem so significant when reflecting on the lives of the men, women, and children featured in the slide show.

Make sure you grab a kleenex when watching, and remember to send up a prayer for all these people that represent the world....a world that is truly hungry and crying out for the hand of God.

http://msnbc.com/modules/yip05/dw.asp?nStartOn=1

Merry Christmas!

As I sit and think about the holiday season and Christmas day that is just around the corner, I realize how blessed I am to be celebrating such a holiday. Not only do I get to choose how I spend my Christmas, and why I celebrate Christmas...but I get to celebrate without being in the midst of civil wars, bombings and other terrorist activities that are happening around the world.

This past year has been great! Yes, I have had a lot of changes, and a lot of depending on God for things that I didn't have a clue about. But since I serve a great God, I was never failed.

I started my second year as the administrator for Puyallup Foursquare's Masters Commission program. For me this has been an awesome opportunity, as I have seen God working in my life just as much as the student's lives. He has been restoring the broken cords of leadership and relationships that have had a decade or so to unravel. It is amazing what God can do when you are willing to go where He leads. I had the opportunity to travel with our MC group to Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia for two weeks last February. What an exciting, eye-opening opportunity.

I moved again (what else is new people are saying)....I am staying with a wonderful couple right now--Charlie and Barb Goodman. Thank You for opening your home and taking me in as another daughter!

Probably the biggest shift for me this year, was a new job. I had been working for my family for the last few years, which was a very laid back job (the couch and taking naps with Mason was my favorite part of the day); however, they moved to California (who I miss tremendously...especially my bad bad Mexican...Maddy)this summer and I had to find a new job. That was one of those leaning on God trust factors...I started at Renewal Construction, in Puyallup on August 1st. It is a great job, and I actually like going to work. However, I am not used to not taking naps during the day, and being able to do what I want and when I want....but I guess that is part of being an adult. RIGHT?



The next year looks to be a wonderful year as well, as I am working my way out of debt and God is seeing to all my provisions. I am heading back to SE Asia again in February...where we expect to see awesome works of God. God blessed me financially to even go on the trip ($950 donated anonymously! Only need $325 more...WOW!), and my boss let me have 2.5 weeks off work to go as well. This next year is going to be spent getting myself on my feet financially so that I can better use my finaces to further the kingdom of God.

I pray blessings for each and everyone of you and your families. I pray that you will see through all the hoopla of Christmas, to why we really celebrate. And then have fun (everyone loves getting presents!). I also pray traveling mercies on all you as you travel to see families and friends.

Blessings,
Rachel Ann

For the Girls!

Remember this at Christmas Time...

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.


Thanks to my friend Megan who sent me this!

Playing Cards

Tonight I was asked, "On a deck of playing cards, who were the original French Kings and what suites were they?" What a fascinating question to ask...so I did a little internet search and here is what I found out about the history of the playing card:

...It is believed to have originated in China once paper was discovered, and all cards were then created by hand.

...As it was hard to mass produce cards made by hand, they moved to making cards with stencils.

...And the orignial decks consisted of 56 cards, not 52.

The Parisian Design of Kings are as follows:

King of Spades: David
King of Diamonds: Caesar
King of Clubs: Alexander
King of Hearts: Charles (Charlemagne)

Just to go a bit further....

Queen of Spades: Pailas (warrior goddess)
Queen of Diamonds: Rachel (mother of Joseph) I particularly like this card! :)
Queen of Clubs: Argine (anagram of regina which is Latin for queen)
Queen of Hearts: Judith (Book of Judith)

and a bit further, shall we?.....

Knights or Knaves:

Spades: Ogier (Knight of Charlemagne)
Diamonds: La Hire (Commander in arms with Joan of Arc)
Clubs: Hector (prince of Troy)
Hearts: Judas Maccabee (led Jewish rebellion against Syrians)


What a completely fascinating history of the playing card. Thanks Greg for the lead.

I know this is a subject that is completely out in left field; however, I find these kind of topics quite interesting. Now if there is ever a lull in conversation, you have a great conversation starter....

Blessings from the Queen of Diamonds Rachel

Kingdom of Heaven

I am not usually a person that gets "spiritual" thoughts out of movie; however, I watched the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" last night. It was a greatly intense movie, and gave me much greater insight into the crusades of that time (also helps that Orlando Bloom is easy on the eyes).

Things I learned...

....The crusades lasted for 200 years. Think about that! That is at least five generations of men, if not more who went to war to fight for the privelege of "owning" the City of Jerusalem.

....It wasn't a war that accomplished anything. It was merely a bragging rights of whose flag flew from the highest point in Jerusalem...Christians or Muslims.

....God was NOT in the middle of this war. I can't even imagine what He was thinking as the crusades drug on for years and years.

This is my journal entry today:

"As I sat watching the movie last night, I commented on how lame it was that the very city these men were fighting for was the very city they were destroying in order to gain control. The Syrian (I think) Prince wanted nothing more than to see the Muslims in control of Jerusalem once again, so they laid seige to the city they claimed as theirs.

Then I got to thinking--my life is the "city" God wants to control; however, I stand at guard not allowing God entrance. He then starts "attacking" areas of mylife that need to die. Sometimes I feel as if they are personal attacks, and that I won't survive. Other times I just hunker down and pray that the debris I see falling all around me won't hit me. Yet I am praying against the very debris God is sending down as a notice to get my attention. Sometimes God does have to destroy us or our shell in order to get to the prize He is looking for. So do we stand at the gate of our fortress defending it or do we come out to surrender and 'give terms'? God very much wants my full cooperation and surrender.

Now I need to realize what God was trying to destroy in order to build me back up. Is it the lies of the enemy that I thought I had been prevailing against (loneliness, fear of never being married or a mother, discouragement)? Is it the plans I have laid out for my life? Do they not truly match up with God's plan for my life? Is it the need to have deeper relationship with Abba Father?

The crusades lasted for two hundred years. At the end men were fighting each other in a war, that neither side had been alive at the onset of...NOR truly knew the reason for the continued fighting. I don't want to have God trying to destroy things in my life for 2 years, nonetheless 200 years.

I come out!
I Surrender!
I come to terms!
I am yours. Kill that which needs to be killed and breathe life into that which you want to see be fruitful and alive."


So where is my Kingdom of Heaven? In the city of Rachel waiting to rise up as a powerful force in my life and in the lives of those around me. A city that is ready to march and do battle in a Godly way and for a Godly reason.

Where is your Kingdom of Heaven? What are you fighting for? What is God fighting for in your life?

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

Well, the weathermen said we would have a "snowstorm" last night, getting 1-2" inches overnight. So I made sure I was up early enough this morning to possibly scrape ice off my truck, and heat it up and have time to go slowly to work.

What did I see this morning? RAIN!! Go figure, we live in Washington and get rain.

Then about 9ish this morning, as I was sitting at my desk, it started to snow. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a complete Bah Humbug; however, I hate to drive in snow...especially with others who don't know how to drive in it. It snowed all day long, actually sticking to the cars, the trees, and even the road. I do have to admit that it was beautiful, but then.....it all melted away.

Enjoy the evening with a nice cup of hot cocoa!

I am Thankful For.....

all the blessings God has bestowed on my life over the year's, the months, and even just the last few days. I am so excited to serve a God that answers prayers. I received a phone call today from my church saying that someone anonymously donated $950 to my mission's trip that I am taking in February. I have always heard stories of how God gives large sums of money to people; however, I never really thought it could happen to me. But I prayed for a certain amount to cover my trip, and I am only $325 away....my faith level went up a few notches today, and I truly believe God blesses those who trust in Him.

I am also thankful for my family. Next to God, family is the most important thing in my life. Unfortunately, I won't be spending the holidays with family this year, but I do think of them constantly and wish that we could all be together; however, I know that we will be together again someday. I am fortunate that I have many friends whom I consider family, and will be spending the day with a great family!

Please spend a few minutes contemplating all that God has given you this last year, and all the things you have to be thankful for. It isn't a hard task; however, so people have to think hard about what they are grateful for, and that is a sad thought. Why do we always wait until Thanksgiving to think about what we are thankful for? Why not think about it tonight? Why not think about every day?!! Be thankful all year long!

As a closing note, I am extremely grateful for humor and the gift of laughter that God has given me. And for those that know me well, you will say that my laugh is loud, obnoxious and hard to forget. So to keep you laughing, copy and paste the following link for a great Turkey Survival Song:

http://www.americangreetings.com/display.pd?bfrom=1&prodnum=3081495&path=25200&va=1

Enjoy...and don't eat too much Turkey.

Blessings to each and everyone of you. And if someone happens on my blog who doesn't believe in God and blessings, then I pray a double portion of blessing on you and your family!